Crossword clues for despond
The Collaborative International Dictionary
despond \de*spond"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Desponded; p. pr. & vb. n. Desponding.] [L. despond[=e]re, desponsum, to promise away, promise in marriage, give up, to lose (courage); de- + spond[=e]re to promise solemnly. See Sponsor.] To give up the will, courage, or spirit; to be thoroughly disheartened; to lose all courage; to become dispirited or depressed; to take an unhopeful view.
I should despair, or at least despond.
--Scott's
Letters.
Others depress their own minds, [and] despond at the
first difficulty.
--Locke.
We wish that . . . desponding patriotism may turn its
eyes hitherward, and be assured that the foundations of
our national power still stand strong.
--D. Webster.
Syn: Despond, Dispair.
Usage: Despair implies a total loss of hope, which despond does not, at least in every case; yet despondency is often more lasting than despair, or than desperation, which impels to violent action.
Wiktionary
n. (context archaic English) despondency. vb. To give up the will, courage, or spirit; to become dejected, lose heart.
WordNet
v. lose confidence or hope; become dejected; "The supporters of the Presidential candidate desponded when they learned the early results of the election"
Wikipedia
Usage examples of "despond".
The comparative contentment of the great Sheikh at this moment, her silence, and the sudden departure of Fakredeen, induced Baroni to believe that there was yet something on the cards, and, being of a sanguine disposition, he sincerely encouraged his master, who, however, did not appear to be very desponding.
Jess and her daughter, while Jake gazed into the millrace as if into the Slough of Despond.
It must undoubtedly seem strange, that the conclusion of his Preface should be expressed in terms so desponding, when it is considered that the authour was then only in his forty-sixth year.
But never, save when the child was ill, had she desponded or abated heart and hope.
I became the victim of ingratitude and cold coquetry--then I desponded, and imagined that my discontent gave me a right to hate the world.
The desponding troops obeyed the signal of the retreat, only seventy days after they had passed the Chaboras, with the sanguine expectation of subverting the throne of Persia.
He pronounced an eloquent eulogium on the noble charity of Laeta, the widow of the Emperor Gratian, who, with her mother, devoted the store of provisions obtained by their imperial revenues to succouring, at that important juncture, the starving and desponding poor: he admitted the new scarcity, consequent on the dissipation of Laeta's stores.
Impossible to drive, though earlier he had driven, had made it to Little Despond and back, following up on the oil spill.
Nowhere near as bad as you thought when you were halfway through the first draft, struggling against the slough of despond.
The operating system market is a death-trap, a tar-pit, a slough of despond.
I am sinking into such a slough of despond as only an artist whose job is finished must endure.
The next time I see you sinking into a slough of despond or starting to feel overly sorry for yourself, I’.
She inhaled deeply, then straightened up, squared her shoulders, and scolded herself for allowing herself to fall into a slough of despond.
The next time I see you sinking into a slough of despond or starting to feel overly sorry for yourself, I'm going to kick you-with infinite respect, of course!
My rapid descent into the slough of despond was matched by an equally steep decline in mental stability.